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General Martin Allahandro Carlos Perez[4] was the commanding officer aboard the United Systems Military vessel USM Auriga. He also oversaw the scientific team led by Dr. Mason Wren that sought to resurrect the Xenomorph XX121 species by cloning the long-deceased Ellen Ripley, although in reality he had little involvement with the project beyond a basic managerial role.

Perez was killed by a Xenomorph during the early stages of the containment breach.

Contents

Biography

Early life

The cloning project

While Perez was officially in charge of the project to resurrect the Xenomorph species aboard the Auriga, in reality he left control of the program largely in the hands of Dr. Wren. Instead, Perez focused on the day-to-day running of the Auriga itself, a task that he conducted with extreme military efficiency and precision. Perez was also the man responsible for the deal with Frank Elgyn and the crew of the Betty to acquire hosts for the Cloned Xenomorphs to reproduce.

The General was initially at odds with Wren over his decision to keep Ripley 8 alive after the Cloned Queen was removed from her body, and was troubled by her extreme intelligence and recollection of Ellen Ripley's life in particular. While he elected to leave the matter in Wren's hands, he made it clear he would have Ripley 8 "put down" if she proved to be at all problematic.

Deal with Elgyn

"Very few people deal in cash nowadays.""Just the ones don't like to keep business records. Yourself, for example."

When the Betty arrived, Perez met with Elgyn in his personal quarters to hand over payment for his cargo. While he briefly considered simply executing the smugglers instead of paying them,[5] he ultimately decided against it and handed over the money that had been promised. Elgyn additionally requested that he be allowed to stay for a few days so that Dom Vriess could make repairs to the Betty, using the fact that Perez was clearly operating in something of a legal grey area as leverage. After setting down strict conditions that his crew were to stay well away from restricted areas, and that there was to be no trouble or fighting, Perez agreed.[6]

Containment breach

General Perez' final moments.

Despite tight security, the Xenomorphs later broke out of containment and began capturing or killing the crew on board. Perez — who had been sleeping in his dormitory — was awoken by the station's automated alarm system, which alerted him to the breakout.

After donning his uniform and leaving his room, Perez soon discovered that the situation had gotten completely out of control. Aware of how much of a threat the escaped Xenomorphs pose, Perez ordered a complete evacuation of the Auriga, personally overseeing the launching of the lifeboats along with another soldier. He hoped to control the ship remotely from aboard one of the pods, so that it may be piloted back to Earth where the situation could be contained and the research continued.[7]

While the first escape pods were launched successfully, one was infiltrated by a Drone that began slaughtering its occupants as Perez and the soldier with him watched in horror. Realizing that the pod will unintentionally carry the Xenomorph on board to Earth if it is not destroyed, Perez hurled a remotely-detonated grenade into the pod before having the soldier accompanying him seal the pod and launch it. Once the pod was clear of the Auriga, Perez detonated the grenade in space, destroying the pod and killing both the Xenomorph and any survivors on board.

Death

The General then offered a sombre salute to his fallen men, but unfortunately another Drone used the opportunity to sneak behind him as he was distracted. Tetanized by fear, the soldier accompanying him simply backed himself against a wall and watched in terror. Just as the General realized what was standing behind him, the creature punctured the back of his skull with a Headbite, exposing his brains, which the horrified Perez briefly examined before dying.

Personality and Traits

"Bottom line is, she looks at me funny one time, I'm putting her down."

Although in command of a dangerous and unethical scientific program, Perez was in fact an honorable man. His primary motivation in leading the project was his hope that successfully harnessing the Xenomorphs as a bio-weapon would ultimately save countless soldiers' lives, and he was willing to accept the amoral aspects of the program as a means to that end.[8] Outwardly, Perez was always impeccably presented, dressing in formal military attire and taking great care to act with courtesy and professionalism. He was also shown to care deeply for the men under his command, although his insistence that everyone operate by the book sometimes aggravated them.[9] In addition, he appeared somewhat disgusted by Elgyn's sexist comments about Annalee Call as well as his jokes about Dom Vriess's paralysis while the two conversed, indicating he disapproves of such discrimination.

Despite his niceties, Perez was undoubtedly ruthless in his conduct, particularly with regards to Ripley 8, whom he regarded as nothing more than a "meat by-product" of the process used to recreate the Xenomorph species; her assaults on Wren almost led to Perez having her summarily executed. The General was also willing to pay — and later even consider executing — smugglers to kidnap innocent civilians for use as live hosts in the breeding project, despite the fact this condemned them to a horrific death from the Chestbursters implanted inside them.

Behind the Scenes

Alternate death

Perez was originally scripted to die in an elaborate and graphic sequence where he is sucked piecemeal through a small hole in the Auriga's hull. However, the producers decided this death was too spectacular to waste on a relatively unimportant character and so his demise was altered, while the original sequence was used for the Newborn instead.

Trivia

When Perez's death was changed to the brain-examining demise he suffers in the finished film, 20th Century Fox became worried that the scene was too comedic for an Alien film and wanted to cut it, but director Jean-Pierre Jeunet convinced executives to let it stay.[10]